Court Reporting And Gift Giving Practices

In the latest Deposition Reporter Newsletter there is a very interesting article on gift giving. Here are some of my thoughts on the article and how it's affecting the court reporting business...

Wouldn't it be better to know that an attorney is using your court reporting firm because of the quality of the work being provided rather than because of certain gifts being given. Nowadays it seems that many law firms decide who they use not because of the professionalism of the reporter, but rather choose to focus on the freebies being received at every deposition. These “freebies” include lunch, movie theater tickets, Nordstrom gift cards, etc. The article titled “Gift Giving- Beware” hits the nail on the head in revealing the reality in the competition to obtain clients. It really isn't about quality, it's all about the gifts. What would happen if all gift giving was done away with? The focus would then be on how well the calendar department worked, how the reporter transcribed and if the transcript was delivered on time. It would be then that the best court reporting agency would win.

Todd Olivas

Todd Olivas is a court reporter and entrepreneur. He founded TO&A in 2003.

Comment by karen | Monday, September 14, 2009

I totally agree. How do we fight this? Is this really legal? How can we stop it?

Comment by Todd Olivas | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Hi, Karen. Yes, unfortunately it is legal. But I think the way to fight it is to promote the fact that it is unethical. I belong to an association that specifically fights this sort of gift giving, please consider joining today. It is the Deposition Reporters Association. You can visit the website at http://www.caldra.org.

Thank you!

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